IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 476 

Supporting the establishment of a national Children’s Bill of Rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 9, 2015 

Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ (for himself, Ms. BASS, and Ms. JUDY CHU of California) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the establishment of a national Children’s Bill 

of Rights. 

Whereas all children and youth have the inalienable right to 

live in a just, safe, and supportive society; and 

Whereas this right belongs to all children, regardless of gender, class, race, ethnicity, national origin, culture, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation, or ability: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, it is the sense of the House of Representa2 tives that every child is entitled to— 

3 (1) physical well-being, including— 


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1 (A) the right to be free from all forms of 

2 physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, neglect, 

3 and exploitation; 

4 (B) the right to have the child’s essential 

5 needs met, including nutritious food, safe and 

6 accessible shelter, clothing, health care, and ac7 cessible transportation; 

8 (C) the right to a safe and healthy environ9 ment, including homes, schools, neighborhoods, 

10 and communities; 

11 (D) the right to the care and protection of 

12 the State in which the child resides if there is 

13 no parent, legal guardian, or other caregiver 

14 willing and able to assume responsibility for the 

15 care and well-being of the child; and 

16 (E) the right to receive appropriate med17 ical treatment, and the right to access afford18 able health insurance coverage, including effec19 tive therapeutic interventions for behavioral 

20 health; 

21 (2) social and emotional well-being, including— 

22 (A) the right to develop a healthy attach23 ment to a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver, 

24 and the right to an ongoing relationship with a 

25 caring and supportive adult; 


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1 (B) the right to remain with a parent, 

2 legal guardian, or caregiver, except when au3 thorities determine separation is in the best in4 terest of the child; 

5 (C) the right to be reunited with a parent, 

6 legal guardian, or caregiver should separation 

7 occur, with priority given to keeping children 

8 with their family or with kin in a home setting, 

9 whenever it remains in the child’s best interest 

10 to do so; 

11 (D) the right to maintain direct contact 

12 with parents on a regular basis when a child is 

13 separated from a parent, including cases in 

14 which a parent is incarcerated or detained, 

15 whenever it remains in the child’s best interest 

16 to do so; 

17 (E) the right to access sports and other ex18 tracurricular activities that support the child’s 

19 healthy social, emotional, and physical develop20 ment; 

21 (F) the right to a voice in matters that af22 fect the child, and the right to participation in 

23 age-appropriate forums, including representa24 tion on youth councils and other decisionmaking 

25 bodies; 


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1 (G) the right to have the child’s best inter2 est taken into consideration with regards to de3 cisions that affect the child; 

4 (H) the right to have appropriate legal 

5 representation and a child advocate in legal pro6 ceedings to represent the interest of the child; 

7 (I) the right to rehabilitative services and 

8 periodic review if detained or incarcerated as a 

9 juvenile; and 

10 (J) the right to have parents, elected offi11 cials, and other adults consider the effect that 

12 their decisions will have on a child’s care and 

13 community; and 

14 (3) educational and life skills, including— 

15 (A) the right to a well-rounded, high-qual16 ity, and culturally competent education that 

17 promotes success in life and in future careers; 

18 (B) the right to access educational services 

19 and supports necessary to accommodate the 

20 child’s needs; 

21 (C) the right to a safe learning environ22 ment, and the right to be free from bullying; 

23 (D) the right to an education that is suffi24 ciently funded to provide the child with the 


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1 tools and technology necessary for a successful 

2 learning experience; 

3 (E) the right to be heard in age-appro4 priate ways on issues regarding the education 

5 of the child and to be represented on school 

6 boards and other decisionmaking bodies; 

7 (F) the right of access to training in life 

8 skills that will prepare the child to live inde9 pendently and contribute to the child’s commu10 nity; and 

11 (G) the right to protections from unfair 

12 and unsafe labor practices in the workforce. 

Æ 


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